Writers

Thomas C. Tobin

Tom Tobin is Assistant Metro Editor / Education, Health & Medicine at the Tampa Bay Times. He has worked at the Times since 1988, serving much of that time as a government reporter. He also has reported on the Church of Scientology periodically since 1996.
As the Times' state reporter, he covered the 2000 presidential recount in Florida and wrote about subsequent efforts to retool the state's election machinery. From 2003 to 2009, he covered education, focusing on school board issues, school finance, the achievement gap and desegregation.
Born in St. Louis, Mo., he lives in St. Petersburg with his wife, Kathleen, and their three children.

Before they could get away, we asked the top graduates at Pinellas County’s private schools to write a Twitter-length paragraph about what’s on their mind. We suggested they reflect on the past or the future, or talk about the people who helped...

After four years of classes, tests and extracurriculars, we gave the top graduates at Pinellas County’s public high schools one more assignment: Write a Twitter-length paragraph about what you’re thinking as graduation day approaches. It...

ST. PETERSBURG — If the crowds that showed up for two open houses last week are any indication, the Pinellas County school district may have hit on a recipe that could finally turn around one of its most struggling schools.The two events drew...

Every year, the Pinellas County school district’s Outstanding Educator recognition program gives us a telling glimpse inside classrooms all over county. Among the 10 finalists are a "warm demander" who finds ways to push her elementary school...

A bill that would permanently expand state financial aid for tens of thousands of Florida college students faces a key vote today in the state Senate.The "Florida Excellence in Higher Education Act of 2018," also known as

If history is any guide, more than 20,000 applications from some 11,000 students will flow into the Pinellas County school system’s computers over the next two weeks as families seek access to choice programs.Those numbers have been fairly...

Florida slightly improved its national standing this year, rising from 36th to 32nd overall in the annual America’s Health Rankings report. But the takeaway for the nation’s third-largest state is that it has a long way to go in many important health...